This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1985. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible

Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.

Underground storage tanks were in operation at this public works yard as early as 1985 — and predecessor tanks were in use even before that — placing the facility squarely within the occurrence-based CGL policy era. The petroleum contamination documented in groundwater during the 1994 closure investigation traces to tank operations that began before the 1986 pollution-exclusion shift. Historical carriers who wrote CGL policies covering the irrigation district's operations during that pre-1986 window may still bear obligations to recover the remediation costs incurred at this site.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.